Get to know Jamia Wilson
Jamia Wilson is the Vice President of Programs at the Women’s Media Center. She is also one of the co-organizers of Ain’t I A Woman and we are excited to give you a chance to get to know her better before the panel.
Don’t worry! We will bombarded her with more questions after the event as well.
As the Vice President of Programs at the Women’s Media Center do you see that progressive media reform movements are moving towards an intersectionality framework?
While we have made some progress, we still have a long way to go in order to address the disparities in representation. We will not achieve equality without considering privilege, power, and history in a very intentional and meaningful way. I am hopeful that conversations like the one we will be engaging in at the Ain’t I A Woman event will ignite a fire in all of us to take action and raise our voices about the importance of the intersectional approach. The intersectional framework is crucial to our work to challenge a media climate that renders some of us invisible. There will be no justice when underrepresented groups are left out of the decision making process and denied access to the tools and resources they need to participate in making and engaging with media. I am blessed to be a part of an organization that is working to amplify the voices of diverse women in order to change the conversation.
Can you share with us some of your general thoughts on where we can expect the conversation to go with your panelists?
I can’t wait to speak with Latoya Peterson and Elizabeth Mendez Berry about race and pop-culture. I am interested in hearing about their vision, learning about their professional triumphs and challenges, and hearing their ideas about opportunities for transformation and transcendence.
I also want to know their favorite hip-hop lyric mantra…mine is “How you gonna win if you ain’t right within” by Lauryn Hill.
What/who are some positive examples that you see of women in the pop culture that we can look to today?
I love Erykah Badu. Erykah Badu’s creative expression and presence remind me to keep my head held high, raise my voice, speak my truth, chill, and be my quirky brown self with pride and celebration. I am also extremely proud of Esperanza Spalding for winning the Best New Artist award this year. I read an interview a few years ago where Spaulding spoke about how women artists are sexualized the media and I hope that she will continue to raise her voice and utilize her platform to address this issue in the future.
What are you most excited about for the Monday gathering?
I’m so excited for the communion of kindred spirits, the rejuvenation that comes with being in a healing sister-space, and all the new ideas that I will come away with that will help me be a better advocate and human being! I am also thrilled to dance to DJ Lobotomy’s grooves.
